FreeBSD tier-2 cross-link under Zig 0.16: link staged libs by path, only when used

.github/workflows/windows.yml

@@ -182,10 +182,11 @@ jobs:
     - name: Provision zig
       id: prov
       run: |
-        ZIG_VER=0.13.0
-        curl -fsSL "https://ziglang.org/download/${ZIG_VER}/zig-linux-x86_64-${ZIG_VER}.tar.xz" \
+        # Zig 0.16 renamed the archive: zig-<arch>-<os>-<ver> (was <os>-<arch>).
+        ZIG_VER=0.16.0
+        curl -fsSL "https://ziglang.org/download/${ZIG_VER}/zig-x86_64-linux-${ZIG_VER}.tar.xz" \
           | tar -xJ -C "$RUNNER_TEMP"
-        echo "$RUNNER_TEMP/zig-linux-x86_64-${ZIG_VER}" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
+        echo "$RUNNER_TEMP/zig-x86_64-linux-${ZIG_VER}" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
 
     # The NATIVE toolchain: the cross build is driven by a host `ae`, which is
     # exactly what keeps Wine out of the compile path.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -11,6 +11,23 @@ version number before tagging the release.
 
 ## [current]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- **FreeBSD cross-linking failed `error: libc not available` under Zig 0.13.**
+  `tools/ae_cross.c`'s FreeBSD/tier-2 wiring is written for Zig 0.16 (it relies
+  on 0.16 supplying the CRT/libc from `--sysroot` and resolving `-L` beneath
+  it); on 0.13 any FreeBSD cross-link died with `cannot find entry symbol
+  _start` / `libc not available` (reported downstream as an OpenSSL-specific
+  failure, but it hit any program that reached the final link). The toolchain
+  pin is bumped to 0.16 in aether-crossbuild and `windows.yml`, and two tier-2
+  bugs the bump exposed are fixed: (1) the CROSSBUILD_SYSROOT probe over-linked
+  every *staged* archive — even ones the program never imports — which 0.16
+  hard-errors on (`unable to find dynamic system library 'pcre2-8'`); it now
+  gates each lib on the program's resolved import closure (staged AND
+  requested). (2) Tier-2 libs were linked via `-L$CROSSBUILD_SYSROOT/lib -lNAME`,
+  but 0.16 rewrites an absolute `-L` beneath `--sysroot` so the libs were never
+  found; they are now linked by absolute archive path.
+
 ## [0.645.0]
 
 ### Added